‘TIME TO GO’
Hampton’s town moderator bids farewell after 20 years of service
HAMPTON — Bob Casassa has been the face of Hampton’s elections for two decades, following in his father’s footsteps as town moderator.
The March 12 Town Meeting will be his last day on the job as he decided not to seek another term. He will preside over his last deliberative session this Saturday.
“Time to pass the torch,” Casassa said.
Casassa served 20 years in the role, just like his father, Al.
Casassa’s father was town moderator in Hampton from 1968 to 1988, but Casassa said he initially had no interest in following his path. He remembered attending his father’s last Town Meeting at his mother’s request, but he quickly left.
“I lasted probably 15 minutes. I go, ‘My god, I gotta get out of here,’” Casassa recalled.
He was 29 then, and just starting to work in his father’s law office in Hampton.
Casassa said it was former town moderator Col. Paul Lessard, who served from 1999 to 2004, who convinced him to run.
“He just came up to me and said, ‘Hey, I’m not doing this forever. Do you want to do it?’ ” Casassa said. “I said yes, but not now. He said, ‘Okay, let me know when you’re ready.’”
Casassa returned the following election cycle and signed up to run for the position. He had an opponent, but he won the election, allowing Lessard to hand him the reins.
“I said, ‘Hey, I will do it if you don’t want to anymore,” Casassa said. “And that’s how it happened. He was very gracious in that transition.”
Casassa reflects on 20 years on the job
Casassa grew to love the role of moderator. He had previous experience as an attorney representing
school districts and observing various town moderators. He drew from their styles to create his own.
“Watching moderators in other communities,” Casassa said. “I was like, ‘I could do that.’”
The years hold special memories for Casassa.
In the primary, he said he felt great meaning in his work. The day carried weight that drew some of the political world’s most significant players, like President Bill Clinton in 2016 when he campaigned for his wife Hillary.
“Another special moment to have a former president at a polling location,” Casassa said. “Certainly, irrespective of what somebody’s politics are.”
The town elections held each March drew smaller numbers than the primary, but Casassa holds those memories dear as well. He recalled the year that the Hampton Academy renovation project was on the ballot, and a major snowstorm had led moderators in other towns to postpone the election.
Casassa had to interpret the law to determine whether he had the authority to postpone the vote. He decided he did not, and Hampton held its Town Meeting despite the weather.
The school project passed at the polls. Casassa said he was glad to keep the polls open in a year when voters were tasked with deciding such a bigticket item.
“People turned out despite the weather to vote on that article,” Casassa said. “It’s certainly an election that I will always remember.”
How town elections have changed over the years
Casassa said times have changed in town elections since he first took over the job of moderator.
The deliberative session, held on a Saturday each February to finalize the March ballot, once took an entire day to complete given its attendance and the number of issues to address.
Casassa said the turnout for deliberative sessions has dwindled over the years. In exchange, he said, the SB2 town meeting format in which voters make their final decisions at the polls has resulted in greater turnout in March than at the deliberative session.
“I think because people know it’s not the final say,” Casassa said. “The tradeoff is that so, so many more people get to vote in March.”
Casassa said challenges to the election process in recent years have brought some friction between the public and the ones managing the polls. Following the 2020 election, a statewide initiative taken up by then-selectman Regina Barnes called for voting machines to be removed in favor of a count by hand.
“People would say, ‘Don’t take it personally, Bob,’ ” Casassa said. “But, I mean, essentially, they’re saying, ‘We don’t trust what you’re doing.’ ”
Casassa said it was frustrating to have the election process questioned, especially when anyone can request a recount, and New Hampshire has paper ballots.
The concern with Barnes’ proposal, he said, was the amount of work it would take to hand count elections.
He recalled his father talking about when there were no machines and hand-counting votes until daybreak the following morning to finish the election results.
“I don’t necessarily think that’s a good thing,” Casassa said.
Why is Casassa retiring after 20 years?
Casassa said his father reached 20 years, and now he has two decades under his belt as well.
Casassa said he believes in new faces taking over to keep leadership fresh. He said one individual shadowed him on the recent presidential primary day to see if he was interested in running this March. The filing period to run for town office ends Feb. 2.
“I think it’s healthy to have a different voice, and face at Town Meeting,” Casassa said. “Time to go, and I’ve enjoyed it very much.”